DAVE MCGILLIVRAY INDUCTED INTO ROAD RUNNERS CLUB OF AMERICA LONG DISTANCE RUNNING HALL OF FAME

DETROIT — Dave McGillivray, race director of the Boston Marathon and numerous other races throughout the U.S., was inducted into the Road Runners Club of America Long Distance Running Hall of Fame on March 11 in Detroit.

“In light of his unwavering dedication and longstanding service to our sport, Dave was an overwhelming choice for elevation to the Hall of Fame by the HOF Committee,” said Mitchell Garner, president of the Road Runners Club of America and chair of the group’s American Long Distance Running Hall of Fame Selection Committee.

McGillivray is a pioneer in what is now one of the most important aspects of the endurance sports industry – combining athletics with philanthropy. He and the races he has managed through DMSE Sports have raised millions for charity, including through his legendary feats of endurance, such as running across the U.S. two different times.

“Dave’s achievements stand as an inspiration to all those who aspire to go beyond participation and truly serve our sport. It is said that service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth. Through his service to the sport of running, Dave has paid his rent many times over,” Garner added.

In addition to McGillivray, the other Class of 2017 inductees are Ryan Hall, Desiree Linden and George Hirsch. The induction ceremony took place at the awards dinner at the 59th annual Road Runners Club of America convention in Detroit on Saturday night (March 11).

“I’ve always felt there is no such thing as an individual achievement,” McGillivray said. “It takes a village.  We are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with. I am just a conductor, they are the ones who make the music.  I owe 99 percent of my career accomplishments to my industry colleagues, all the folks at the B.A.A., my team at DMSE Sports and, of course, my supportive family and friends.”

In addition to being the technical and race director of the famed Boston Marathon for his 30th year this April, McGillivray has also completed 44 consecutive Boston Marathons and will run his 45th next month after all the other competitors cross the finish line and his work is done. He will be running for the Martin Richard Foundation (MR8) as will his 22-year-old son Max, who is running his first Boston Marathon. Combined, father and son have already raised over $50,000 for MR8 in memory of the young boy who was killed in the 2013 marathon bombing.  

As the owner and president of DMSE, Inc., known as DMSE Sports, McGillivray and his company have become a leader in the sports management field with over 75 staff and consultants locally and across the country. The firm manages more than 30 running events and races a year throughout the U.S. – from Maine to California.

Nearly every DMSE Sports event combines fitness and fundraising, giving back to the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Children’s Hospital, Lazarus House and many other charities and non-profit organizations in New England and across the country.

McGillivray, a Medford native who now lives in North Andover, Mass., is also known as an inspirational speaker who gives talks to schoolchildren and a variety of groups throughout the country. He is presently working on a children’s picture book called “Dream Big”, based on his 2006 autobiography, “The Last Pick”. “Dream Big” is scheduled to be published by the end of 2017.

The Hall of Fame committee that elected McGillivray is made up of running legends Bill Rodgers, Craig Virgin, Don Kardong, Doug Kurtis, Frank Shorter, Jacqueline Hansen, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Kim Jones, and Lisa Rainsberger. 

“What stood out to the HOF Committee members was Dave’s influence on so many aspects of our sport, including his impact as a runner, a race director, a philanthropist, and an author,” said Garner. “Few individuals can lay claim to so many outstanding achievements in our sport. How many people can say that they organized and ran in a marathon that took place within a prison’s walls?” 

McGillivray’s endurance feats also have included running up the East Coast of the U.S., running the Boston Marathon while blindfolded, running 120 miles in 24 hours, biking for 24 hours and swimming for 24 hours – all the raise money for numerous worthwhile causes. His next endurance goal is to compete in the 2018 World Marathon Challenge in January, racing in seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.

McGillivray is also a past recipient of numerous other notable awards and recognitions:

• Named Race Director of the Year by Road Race Management in 2000.

• Awarded Lifetime Achievement Award by Competitor Magazine in 2000.

• Named by Runner’s World as its 2007 Hero of Running.

• Inducted into the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame in 2011.

• Listed as #6 on “The 50 Most Influential People in Running” by Runner’s World magazine in its October, 2015 edition.

• Recipient of 2015 MarathonFoto / Road Race Management Lifetime Achievement Award.

About the Road Runners Club of America
The Road Runners Club of America is the oldest and largest national association of running organizations dedicated to growing the sport of running since 1958. Based outside Washington, D.C. in Arlington, Va., the RRCA champions the development of community-based running clubs and events that serve runners of all ages and abilities in pursuit of health and competition. For more information, visit www.rrca.org.

About DMSE Sports
Founded by Dave McGillivray in 1981, DMSE Sports is a leader in sports event management, specializing in creating, marketing and producing mass participatory athletic events throughout the U.S. and abroad. DMSE works with the B.A.A operations team in overseeing all the logistics and technical operations of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon, and manages the TD Beach to Beacon in Maine, the New Balance Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod, the Finish at the 50 at Patriot Place, the Feaster Five, the Bellin Run in Green Bay, Wis., and a new race in July called the DMSE Sports Classic Half Marathon, among others. For additional information on McGillivray or DMSE Sports, visit www.dmsesports.com or find DMSE on Facebook and Twitter.